The present invention relates to firing mechanisms in general, and more particularly to electronic control of firing mechanisms.
The various settings of arming times, self destruct times, logic modes, etc., of mine firing mechanisms have been set by rotating several miniature selector switches or cutting any of several tabs in the mechanism. Use of these switches required extensive hard wiring which undoubtedly became a factor in cost of the mechanism. The switches were tiny, delicate pieces of hardward which had intrinsically all of the problems of unreliability of switches, such as dirty contacts, rotated and left between normal positions, failure during shock. The tabs were, for all practical purposes, a one-shot affair. They could be cut once; to reconnect them was time consuming. Not cutting the tab in two places so a sizeable gap existed was unreliable since the shock of impact could cause the ends of the tabs to touch. In order to reprogram the firing mechanism having tabs and switches, the mechanism must be moved from the bomb case, if already installed; the battery cap and battery must be removed, and the switches must be repositioned, the tabs cut or resoldered. Under these conditions, it would be almost essential to retest the entire mechanism, as resoldering any electronic device could cause a failure of circuit components.